Four people, including two children, have died after a train collided with a school minibus at a railway crossing in Buggenhout, northern Belgium, authorities said on Tuesday.
Another five schoolchildren were injured in the crash, which occurred in the Dutch-speaking municipality located around 25 kilometres northwest of Brussels. Officials described the incident as a “horrific accident” and said emergency services were quickly deployed to the scene.
Belgium’s deputy prime minister Maxime Prévot confirmed the fatalities stating: “A tragic collision between a train and a school bus took place in Buggenhout this morning. Four people have been killed, including two children.”
Images from the scene showed the severely damaged minibus lying on its side near the railway line, with emergency tents set up around the area. A commuter train remained stationary on the tracks while forensic teams carried out investigations.
Prime Minister Bart De Wever said he was “deeply moved by the horrific accident” and expressed his condolences to the victims’ families.
The cause of the crash has not yet been determined, and a formal investigation has been opened by the public prosecutor’s office.
Belgium’s rail infrastructure agency Infrabel said preliminary footage indicated that the safety barriers at the crossing were down and a red warning light was active at the time of the collision. Infrabel spokesperson Frédéric Sacré said the impact was “extremely violent,” adding that the train was travelling at around 120 kilometres per hour.
